Curtain-stretching device



March 31, 1931. w, CARTER, JR 1,799,001

CURTAIN STRETCHING DEVICE Filed March 25. 1929 JET/557275 ZZW/iamJ'Z'EEZEE Jif- Patented Mar. 31, 1931 UNITED STATES WILLIAM J. CARTER,JR, AKRON, OHIO CURTAIN-STRETCHING DEVICE Application filed March 25,1929. Serial No. 349,813

This invention relates to curtain-stretching devices, and moreparticularly those of the general type disclosed in my prior Patent No.1,686,368, dated Oct. 2, 1928, embodying horizontal and vertical bars,each equipped with a row of impaling pins, together with clampingbrackets slidably mounted on said bars at their crossing points forholding said bars adjustably fixed on each other.

The present invention has for its object to provide an improved clampingbracket of eflicient and inexpensive type. To this end I have devised abracket, the body of which is adapted to be made of one piece of sheetmetal, and formed with channels to receivethe frame bars, the bracketbody being suitably combined with clamping jaw bolts for engaging saidbars.

Of the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is 2 a front elevation, partlybroken away, showing a curtain-stretcher provided wit-h my improvedclamping brackets. v

Fig. 2 is an edge view, partly in section on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

F ig. 3 is a perspective view of the bracket body and part of one jawbolt in dis-assembled relation.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of myinven- 30 tion, the stretching frame includes a pair of horizontalmembers, rails or pin bars 10, each having a row of fixed,outwardly-slanted impaling pins 11 projecting forwardly from an inclinedface 12 of said barset back from the vertical face 13 thereof to form arecess for receiving the horizontal edge of the work and bringing itinto the same plane with the vertical edges.

14, 14. are a. pair of vertical frame members, rails or pin bars, eachprovided with a row of impaling pins 15 set in a recess on the outerside of said bar and adapted to project forwardly beyond said bar toreceive the vertical edges of the work. These pins 15 may be made of apiece of wire bent to form an eye 16 whereby the pin is pivoted on anail 17 driven into the bar 14;, an arcuate heel 18 forming a stop toabut against a ledge 19 of said bar and a sharpened impaling por- 50tion 20 as described in my co-pending application, Serial No. 349,814filed concurrently herewith, or they may have any other suitableconstruction and arrangement such as the one described in my aforesaidPatent No. 1,686,368. The brackets 21 forming the subject of thisapplication are located at the four corners of the stretching frame andthe body of each is made of a single piece of sheet metal bent to form ahorizontal channel member 22 for receiving the bar 10,'and a verticalchannel member 23 for receiving the bar 14, these brackets being made asrights and lofts and two of each construction being required atdiagonally opposite corners of the frame. w a

The rear plate 2 1 of the horizontal channel member has a plate'25 benthorizontally at right-angles thereto for engaging the upper or the lowerside of the corresponding pin bar 10, as the case may be, and a plate 26bent downwardly at right-angles from the outer edge of said plate 25 forengaging the front side of said bar. 27 is an aperture formed near theouter edge of the plate 25 for the passage of the stem 28 of a bolt 29having a clamping jaw 30 at its lower end, and a wing nut 31 screwing onits upper end and resting against plate 25, while the plate 26 has asemi-circular grooved or socket portion 32 pressed therein for encasingthe stem of said bolt in front of the face 13 of the bar 10. 1 j

The vertical channel member 23 has an inner side plate 33 atright-angles to the rear plate 2 1 of channel member 22, a rear plate 34bent at right-angles to said plate 33 and a pair of front lips or plates35 36 at right-angles to the inner side plate 33, the former of theselips being located above the rear plate 2 1 and taken out of themetalfrom the top plate 25 as indicated by the recess 37 leftthereim'whilethe lower lip 36 is located below said rear plate 2 1. :The inner sideplate 33 is formed with an aperture 38, and in the rear plate 34 ispressed a semicircular grooved or socket portion 39 for receiving thestem of a clamping jaw bolt 40 similar to the bolt 39, the wing nut 11of said bolt 40 abutting against the inner side plate 33 of the verticalchannel and the jaw 42 thereof taking over the outer side edge of thepin bar 14.

A grooved portion or ridge 46 is pressed in the plate 25, in the sameplane with the socket portion 32, and similar grooved portions or ridges47, 48 are pressed in the plates 33 211(1'24, in the same plane with thesocket portion 39, these ridges serving to stiffen the bracket structureand also contributing to the proper formationof the bolt holes 27 and38.

This form of bracket body is light and strong, it may be inexpensivelymade of sheet 1 metal and is usable with smaller bolts than the onedescribed in my aforesaid Patent -1,686,368,-without any sacrifice ofthe qualities desired in a corner bracket for the intended purpose.

In addition, I have here shown a vertlcal brace bar43 located in anintermediate position-about midway of the stretching frame forconnecting the horizontal pin bars 10,

said brace bar having a fixed upper bracket it-bolted thereto andengaging the lower edge of the upper bar 10, and a lower clampingbracket mounted for vertical sliding adjustment on'the-brace bar andengaging theupper edge of the lower bar 10, this feature being describedand claimed in my aforesaid co-pending application, Serial No.

It'will be understood that the described details maybe more or lessvaried without departing from my invention as defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a curtain stretcher, the'combination with a pair of crossed bars,of a clamping bracket adjustably connecting said bars in fixed relationand including a single-piece, sh'eet-metal'body bent to form twochannels at right-angles slidably receiving said crossed bars, the wallsof the respective channels having bolt-receiving grooves and aperturesformed therein and apair of jaw-bolts having their'stems interposedbetween and disposed transversely of the stretcher bars and theadjacentchannel walls andreceived in said grooves and apertures.

I 2. A curtain-stretcher clamping bracket 'for adjustably connecting apair of crossed pin bars in fixed relation, said clamping bracketincluding a single-piece, sheet-metal body formed with two bar receivingchannels, the back wall of the first channel and the inner side wallofthe second being connected by a right-angle bend, andsaid inner sidewall being apertured for a jaw-bolt stem, a rear wall for the secondchannel located at right-angles to said inner side wall and formed witha jaw-bolt groove, an outer wall for the first channel formed atright-angles with its'back-wall and a front wall at right angles withthe outer wall, respectively formed with an aperture and a groove for ajaw-bolt stem, a front-wall lip formed on said inner side wall of thesecond channel, of metal removed from the outer side Wall of the firstchannel, and a pair of clamping jaw bolts having their stems received insaid aplertures and grooves of the respective channe s.

3. A curtain-stretcher corner bracket having a body formed of sheetmetal with bar channels each having two walls at right angles, andsubstantially semi-circular clamping-bolt stem sockets substantially atright-angles, each formed in one of said channel walls, said bracketbeing also formed with bolt-stem apertures, each located in theother'wall of the corresponding channel in line'with said sockets.

4:. A curtain-stretcher corner bracket having a body formed ofsheet-metal with bar channels, said body being deformed to :providesubstantially semi-circular clampingbolt stem sockets, apertures in"said body in line with said sockets, and stiffeningridges in adjacentwalls of said body in the 'same planes with said sockets.

5. A curtain-stretcher clamping bracket for adjust-ably connecting apair of crossed pin bars in fixed relation, comprising a body providingtwo bar receiving channels, the

said inner side wall and formedwith' a bolt receiving groovetransversely there'acr'oss, said inner side wall being 'aperturedinlin'ewith said groove, an outer wall for'the first channel formed atright-angles with its back wall, and a front wall at right-angles withthe outer wall and formedwith a bolt receiving groove transverselythere'across, said outer wall of the first channel'being apertured inline with's'aid front wall groove.

6. A curtain-stretcher clamping bracket for adjustably connecting a pairof crossed pin bars in fixed relation, comprising'a sheet metalbody/bent to form two channels at-subs tantially right-angles to eachother for receiving a pair of crossedpin bar's, "awall of each channelhaving a bolt receiving groove transversely thereacross on the inner barengaging side thereof, a wall of each channel adjacent the grooved wallthereof formed with a boltreceivin'g aperture therethrough in line withsuch groove, and a pin bar engaging and securing bolt disposed acrosseach channel in the'groove thereof and-extended through the adjacentwallaperture. In witness whereof I'havehereunto set my hand this 22d dayof March, 1929.

WVILLIAM J. CARTER, JR. I

